


an investigation into outmoded forms of communication

by thatsparrow



Category: Community (TV)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Epistolary, Gen, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-07
Updated: 2020-08-07
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:08:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,690
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25665676
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatsparrow/pseuds/thatsparrow
Summary: Hi Jeff,It's Abed, but you've probably already figured that out. How are things? The dean still includes me in his bi-weekly Greendale newsletters, so I saw that the lunchroom got a new iced coffee-themed vending machine and that the fall production ofMacbethperformed in reverse act order received generally positive reviews. I don't know if you went, because avant garde amateur stage shows aren't really one of your interests, but I'm pretty sure you do like iced coffee.
Relationships: Abed Nadir & Jeff Winger
Comments: 6
Kudos: 53
Collections: Battleship 2020, Battleship 2020 - Yellow Team





	an investigation into outmoded forms of communication

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LearnedFoot](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LearnedFoot/gifts).



From: [ abednadir@gmail.com ](mailto:abednadir@gmail.com)  
To: [ jwinger@greendale.edu ](mailto:jwinger@greendale.edu)  
Subject: An Investigation Into Outmoded Forms of Communication (AKA, I Hope You Still Check Your Email)

Hi Jeff,

It's Abed, but you've probably already figured that out. How are things? The dean still includes me in his bi-weekly Greendale newsletters, so I saw that the lunchroom got a new iced coffee-themed vending machine and that the fall production of _Macbeth_ performed in reverse act order received generally positive reviews. I don't know if you went, because avant garde amateur stage shows aren't really one of your interests, but I'm pretty sure you do like iced coffee.

You know, I did think about sending a real letter with a stamp and an envelope, but I figured you'd be less likely to respond that way (even though I do prefer the visual impact of it—the over-the-shoulder shot of you going through your mail at the kitchen counter and sorting through coupon catalogs and utility bills before seeing an unexpected handwritten letter, marked with the return address of someone you clearly recognize that leaves the audience asking questions. The email version is much less cinematic.) It would have felt a little contrived, too, since nobody really writes letters anymore. Other than Christmas cards, I guess, and maybe the occasional postcard, but I don't think you'd have wanted a postcard. I'm pretty sure you already know that L.A. is sunny and home to the Hollywood sign and so on.

Is everything okay? I'm guessing not, because Annie says you've stopped replying to her messages, except with one-sentence answers and gifs of cats wearing sunglasses, and Britta says that you barely text her anymore, except to send hieroglyphic-esque emoji sentences, which apparently are becoming increasingly unreadable. Maybe I wasn't supposed to tell you that, but then again, it's not like you don't already know what you're saying to Annie and Britta. Or, maybe I wasn't supposed to tell you that we talk about you, but I'm not sure why that would matter. From what they've said, it sounds like your new quasi-radio silence started a little after Britta moved to Denver, and it seems more likely that was a factor than the two things being unrelated. Are you upset because Britta moved to Denver? Denver's pretty close, relatively speaking, especially compared to how far we drove to pick up a statue of a hand.

Okay, that's mostly all I had to say. I hope you're doing alright, and if not, I at least hope that you start talking to Annie and Britta again.

—Abed

From: [ jwinger@greendale.edu ](mailto:jwinger@greendale.edu)  
To: [ abednadir@gmail.com ](mailto:abednadir@gmail.com)  
Subject: Re: An Investigation Into...

Hi Abed,

Doing fine, no need to worry — hope LA is treating you well.

—Jeff

<coolcatdealwithit.gif>

From: [ abednadir@gmail.com ](mailto:abednadir@gmail.com)  
To: [ jwinger@greendale.edu ](mailto:jwinger@greendale.edu)  
Subject: An Investigation Into..

Okay, I see what you did there. Is this because I said that Annie and Britta and I were talking about you? It's just because we're worried, and also because you said you weren't interested in joining our weekly phone calls. You said, and I quote, "Can't you guys just text me?" but you don't really respond to those either, so that doesn't leave us a lot of options. We just want to know that you're okay, and not in the polite, one-sentence way that people usually say to the cashier. Granted, that was a very cute cat gif, but it's not really the response I was looking for. Would you have preferred a letter? I can send one, too, if that helps. Let me know.

—Abed

From: [ jwinger@greendale.edu ](mailto:jwinger@greendale.edu)  
To: [ abednadir@gmail.com ](mailto:abednadir@gmail.com)  
Subject: Re: An Investigation Into..

Look, Abed, I don't know what you want me to say. Things are fine— _I'm_ fine—and, no, this has nothing to do with some idiot in Denver deciding that Britta was actually qualified to be a therapist to real human patients.

You want to talk? Here's all you need to know—do I miss you guys? Sure, but we always knew that was going to happen. Is working at Greendale the same without you all? No, not remotely—but, again, we knew that, and all the iced coffee and shitty Shakespeare in the world wouldn't change it. We did this whole bit, remember? Played pretend about what our season seven would look like, and now that I've seen it up close, yeah, it definitely wasn't worth getting renewed. But it's fine, it's whatever. You and Annie and Britta have better things to do with your lives than worrying about me, anyway. I'm fine, and so you all can cool it with the emails and the calls and the texts and carrier pigeons and whatever else. Like I said, everything's fine.

—Jeff

From: [ abednadir@gmail.com ](mailto:abednadir@gmail.com)  
To: [ jwinger@greendale.edu ](mailto:jwinger@greendale.edu)  
Subject: Re: An Investigation Into..

Granted, I'm not the best judge of reading people (in person, let alone over an exclusively text-based medium like this), but I'm pretty sure when someone says that they're 'fine' five times in an email, it means they aren't actually fine. (I checked with Britta, and she agreed.)

Also, I'm not sure what you mean when you say that we have better things to do than worry about you. Do you mean logistically, or metaphorically? Because logistically, it doesn't take that much time to check in and stay up-to-date with each other (I can send you a graph of the minute counts from my weekly calls with Annie and Britta if you want proof.) And if you're speaking metaphorically, that doesn't make much sense to me either. We're your friends, aren't we? Aren't friends supposed to worry about each other? If not, let me know, and I can adjust my behavior accordingly.

—Abed

From: [ jwinger@greendale.edu ](mailto:jwinger@greendale.edu)  
To: [ abednadir@gmail.com ](mailto:abednadir@gmail.com)  
Subject: Re: An Investigation Into..

Come on, you know what I'm saying. You guys have lives to be living, and careers to be pursuing—yes, even Britta—and new friend groups to be making with a whole different slew of quirky character dynamics. At this point, I'm basically the baby blanket you've all outgrown—but, you know, less creepy. You don't need me anymore, is what I'm saying. I'm part of the backstory now, not the movie spin-off (at best, maybe the direct-to-DVD sequel.) You all have nowhere to go but up, and I've not only peaked but am already on the decline. _That's_ what I mean.

I don't really fit into the story anymore, and I'm not sure why you guys haven't seen it yet.

—Jeff

From: [ abednadir@gmail.com ](mailto:abednadir@gmail.com)  
To: [ jwinger@greendale.edu ](mailto:jwinger@greendale.edu)  
Subject: Re: An Investigation Into..

Now Annie and Britta say that instead of picking up their calls, you're sending them to voicemail halfway through the ringtone, which is a deliberate kind of ignoring that feels like even more of a red flag. Annie thinks we should all come for a reunion-type weekend to cheer you up; I told her I wasn't sure if that was what you wanted, and she said that was all the more reason to do it. I don't know what to do if you won't let us talk to you, so maybe showing up in Greendale is a good idea. You are still checking your emails, though, so that's something.

Ordinarily, I'd be a big fan of you framing things in terms of media structures, but I'm enjoying it a lot less when it sounds like you're using it to write yourself out of the story. I'm not sure that our old format is the right framework, anyway, since we've left the episodic show behind us—at least as it pertains to our group dynamic. Sure, maybe now I'm in a production-style comedy a la _30 Rock_ , and Annie has moved to the world of the crime procedural, and Britta is doing a character drama set in a psychiatrist's office, but our lives also aren't really shows, and so whether we fit into each other's new genres doesn't have to dictate our relationships going forward. Then again, if we _did_ want to reframe our story in a way that keeps us all connected and as focus characters, we could always transition our shared narrative to a non-traditional, interactive media-based web show (think voicemails, social media posts, text messages, and probably also a vlog, since vlogs tend to be staples of the genre. I can talk to Britta about that, though, because I'm pretty sure she'd be on board.)

Point being, I like thinking about life in terms of media tropes because it helps the world make sense to me, but I also recognize that it's only useful to a point. At the end of the day, I don't want to leave behind my friendships with you and Annie and Britta, even if standard cable narratives would ordinarily dictate that we've disbanded for spin-offs or separate networks. That'd be stupid. I care about you all, and so I care about keeping you in my life, whether it suits the format of a show or not. Either way, I hope you find something that works for you, whether it's a TV movie-version of our old dynamic or something new altogether. But if you do want to be a part of the Annie-Abed-Britta new media experiment, you could try joining one of our weekly calls? If you're interested, I could always record it for posterity and/or Episode 1, and if not, it'd still be nice to talk. Either way, let me know. It'd be good to hear from you, and not just because nobody in L.A. is quite as good at delivering a classic Winger speech.

—Abed

From: [ jwinger@greendale.edu ](mailto:jwinger@greendale.edu)  
To: [ abednadir@gmail.com ](mailto:abednadir@gmail.com)  
Subject: Re: An Investigation Into..

Okay, yeah. Sure. Not necessarily to the whole starting-a-web-series thing, but I guess it couldn't hurt to make time for a call. You all know how to reach me, and I promise to pick up the phone this time.

And...Abed? Thank you. I don't say it enough, but you're a good friend—probably the best one I've ever had.

Talk to you soon,

—Jeff


End file.
